The inspiration for my novel, Miami Morning, came from a source made possible only by modern communications technology. Through the internet, it’s possible to network with people who are quite different from us, who live in other countries, engage in other occupations, and come from a variety of cultural settings. Several years ago, this opportunity brought me into a relationship with new people, and their experiences, and our shared experience, fueled my imagination.

I was invited to join an online discussion group by someone I met on LinkedIn. But it wasn’t through a literary forum. Instead, it was one of the philosophy groups. David Turnbull and I had been responding to each other’s comments on posts. This was followed by corresponding via personal email. He read some of my writing, which led to a passionate, and sometimes heated, discussion of ideas and beliefs. He then invited me to join…